School Change From Within: A Case Study of a Voluntary, School-Based Teacher Learning Community

• In Event: Roundtable Session 54
  In Roundtable Session: Impacts of Professional Learning Communities on In-Service Teachers

Abstract

Scholarly interest in teacher learning communities has proliferated. However, most research has concentrated on off-site constructed or sponsored learning communities. This study aims to understand a school-based learning community voluntarily created by teachers and to explore its influence on school change. Drawing on observations and teacher interviews, we present a case study of a seven-year-old school-based learning community at a Korean middle school. The results indicate that the learning community has induced changes in teachers’ knowledge and practices and the school culture. Finally, the study suggests that learning communities function as interventions for consistent school change and start with theory which produces knowledge of practice and that there are different Asian and Western understandings of leadership.

Authors

• Nashil Park, Seoul National University

• Yeon Woo Chang, Seoul National University

• Kyunghee So, Seoul National University